In 2016, Adjunct Professor Nicola Sasanelli joined Defence SA as Director of the Space Industry and R&D Collaborations project. In September 2017 the South Australian Space Industry Centre was created, with Professor Sasanelli as Director. His focus was to support space industry growth and increase international R&D collaborations in South Australia’s space sector. In 2018 he was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia – Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment and he was appointed on the board of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA). Professor Sasanelli graduated from the University of Bari, Italy in 1987 with a degree in Electronic Engineering. He went on to work as a researcher in microelectronics high-reliability components at Tecnopolis Science & Technology Park, Bari before being appointed as Scientific Attaché at the Embassy of Italy in Canberra from 2001 to 2008. In 2009, he joined the South Australian Government as a Special Envoy for higher education research and technology transfer to Europe with the Department of Premier and Cabinet and later joined the Department of State Development as Director for International R&D Collaborations. From 2003 to 2013 he was appointed as Adjunct Professor of Science and Technology at the University of Canberra, Australia, and in 2007 he became an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia.